Wonderstruck
by hopelessromantic99
Summary: What if, just what if, Merlin brought one of his best friends to Camelot? Lara's meant to be Gaius's apprentice, but when you've got Merlin as your best friend, things are bound to happen. Merlin/OC, no slash.
1. The Dragon's Call, Part 1

**It's more or less a novelisation of _Merlin_, simply with my OC added. After reading that one sentence, you're probably thinking, _Why on Earth would I want to read this? _**

**Good question. **

**Maybe you don't have easy access to the show. Maybe you want to re-experience your favourite scenes from a slightly different perspective. Maybe you just want to read some awesome words (because, believe me, I have tried to make this story as awesome as I could) Or maybe you've stopped reading already and I'm just talking to myself like a crazy person.**

**Another question: _Why would you want to write this? _**

**Simply because _Merlin_ is an epic show, and I like to write. **

**But enough about my weirdness. Hopefully you will get some enjoyment out of this, since it was loads of fun trying to capture the essence of all the scenes of _Merlin _and still try to work on Larabelle, my lovely OC. And once (if?) I get to the end, I'd love to do an epilogue of the characters a year later. **

**I believe all you need to know about Lara is that she's Merlin's best friend (besides Will, of course). ****Okay, I've wasted enough of your time. Ready... set... _read!_**

* * *

"Camelot," Lara sighed dreamily, looking up at the great castle that loomed before us in the horizon. "I can't believe it, Merlin, we're actually here!..." She bounced a little on the balls of her feet, hooking her thumbs on the straps of her bag. Merlin smiled at my friend. We'd been traveling for four days- on foot- to the legendary city of Camelot, and it was all Lara could talk about. That, and the fact that she would actually become a healer sometime in the not-so-distant future. They were traveling to live with Gaius, Merlin's elderly uncle, who lived as the court physician. Lara was to be his apprentice; Merlin was sent so Gaius could teach him how to use his... shall we say... 'gifts.'

They stepped inside the stone archway and succumbed themselves to the flow of the village life. Vendors called out to potential buyers this way and that, offering deals on spiced tomatoes, freshly picked apples, or a pint of goat's milk (free if you bought three). Other townsfolk were milling about their daily business, such as refilling the water buckets and sweeping the alleyway. No one seemed to notice their weather-beaten bags or the huge smile that was lighting Lara's face. _Camelot. _

"So- er- do you know where Gaius lives?" Lara asked as they made their way through the bustling street.

"Eh, somewhere in the castle, probably," Merlin guessed. "He works for the king, after all." Two men stood guard at the drawbridge, spears in hand, ready for action. As they strode past the outer walls horns blew, signaling that something was about to happen.

"What's going on?" Lara thought out loud. A crowd was forming around a wooden stage at the center of square, where a cement block had been placed in the middle.

"Dunno," Merlin replied quietly, straining to see past the sea of heads.

"Let this be a lesson to all," a voice suddenly boomed. Heads swiveled around to see that the present king of Camelot, King Uthur, was standing on the balcony of the castle, overlooking the square. "This man- Thomas James Collins- is guilty of conspiring to use enchantments... and magic." As he said this, a man flanked by two guards was led to the stage. A gasp swept through the crowd.

"Under the laws of Camelot, I, Uthur Pendragon, have decreed that such practises are banned-" Uthur paused and looked around, his gaze sweeping the square. "On penalty of death."

Lara gasped and gripped Merlin's arm. He couldn't blame her. He, Merlin, possessed the gift of magic, the very thing that had cost this man his life.

"I pride myself on being a fair and just king," Uthur continued, "But for the crime of sorcery, there is but one sentence I can pass." He nodded to the guards on the stage.

The drums beat louder as the axe was raised along with Uthur's hand. And in a swift motion- along with a sickening squelch- the axe was brought down upon the guilty's neck.

The crowd made a sound of both sympathy and repulsion. Lara paled.

"When I came to this land, this kingdom was drowning in chaos," Uthur went on, "But with the people's help, magic was driven from the realm. So I declare a festival to celebrate twenty years since the Great Dragon was captured and Camelot freed from the evil of sorcery," the King smiled wanly. "Let the celebrations begin."

Immediately the villagers began to talk amongst themselves, either discussing the unfortunate case of Thomas James Collins or the King's bizarre statement. Lara was about to say something to me before a high-pitched, bloodcurdling screech emanated from somewhere in the crowd. The sound was unearthly; it was enough to make the hairs on Merlin's neck stand up. The people parted from the source of the noise- an old, frazzled woman with wispy gray hair, blowing in the breeze. Her eyes were sunk deeply into their sockets, wrinkles long and pronounced.

"There is only one evil in this land!" she shouted up at the King in a voice of despair. "It is not magic; it is you! With your hatred- and your ignorance! You killed my son!" Her pleading tone faded into a more menacing one as she continued: "And I promise you, before these celebrations are over, you will share my tears!" Her voice trembled as a tear rolled down her withered cheek. "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth- a son for a son!"

"Seize her!" Uther ordered. But alas; the guards had barely registered they were to move before the woman hissed a few words in another tongue, a whilrwind of dust and smoke engulfing her as she did so. Leaves scattered, stray bits of wood flew around the place- the villagers shielded their eyes from the flying projectiles. By the time they had removed them, she was gone.

"Well, that was... interesting," Lara said as the crowd dispersed in groups of two or three. Merlin looked back up at the balcony to see Uther's reaction, but he had already disappeared into the castle.

"Come on," Merlin said to her. They set off to the other end of the square.

"Where would I find Gaius, the court physician?" he asked a guard. The guard jabbed a thumb to a hallway, which led them to a very small, cramped staircase. _Court Physician_, read a sign on the wall in peeling letters.

There was only one door in the vicinity. Merlin knocked quietly before poking his head inside. "Hello?"

Lara pushed him in. "Go on, we haven't got all day." He cast her a dirty look before complying.

The room before them was by far one that they had never seen before- books and papers spilled out from the shelves, crammed with years worth of knowledge and research. A wooden table to his right held a mysterious something bubbling away in a glass beaker, surrounded by all sorts of measuring tools and, surprise, more books. The room had a musty smell to it, like a library.

There was a sort of shuffling coming from above them. Merlin looked. "Gaius?" He was perched on a wooden balcony, perusing a bookshelf. Merlin cleared his throat.

He leaned back to see who it was, but the wooden beams could not support his weight; before Merlin even had time to blink the beams broke, sending bits of splintered wood flying through the air. Gravity acted upon Gaius and sent him plummeting to the ground, accompanied by a yell from the old man. Lara was halfway through a yelp of surprise when Merlin felt a slight tingling sensation in his gut; nature bent to his will and time slowed down, as though they were moving through a pot of molasses. I looked around wildly, searching for something to cushion Gaius's fall. Then his eyes fell on his bed. With another tingle, the bed scooted directly under Gaius, and time was restored to its normal pace.

He crashed onto the bed with a thud, pieces of wood falling on him. Merlin looked on, a sense of satisfaction filling him as he surveyed his handiwork. Lara looked at him with wide eyes. Merlin shrugged apologetically.

Gaius sat up,causing the wood to clatter to the floor. "What did you just do?" he panted.

"Erm... I... I have no idea what happened-"

"If anyone has seen that-"

"Oh, no, no, that- that had nothing to do with me-"

"Yes it was, I just want to know where you learned how to do it!"

"Nowhere."

"So how is it that you know magic?" Gaius demanded.

"I don't!"

"Where did you study?"

Merlin hesitated.

"Answer me!"

"I've never studied magic or- or been taught."

"Are you lying to me, boy?" Gaius stepped foward.

Lara launched herself in between them. "It's alright, he was born like this."

"That's impossible!" Gaius spat. Then something in his wrinkled face changed. "Who are you?"

"I'm Lara. Larabelle Calder? I was supposed to come as your apprentice." Lara said.

"What?"

"Oh, em..." Merlin started digging through his bag. "I have a letter." He passed the parchment to him.

"I don't have my glasses," Gaius said, clearly irritated.

"I'm Merlin," Merlin said.

Gaius's face lit with recognition. "Not Hunith's son!" A smile broke on Merlin's face, glad to see that he knew him. "But you're not meant to be here until Wednesday!"

His smile faded. "It is...Wednesday."

Gaius's face was that of pleasent surprise. "Ah. Well, you better put your bags in that room over there." He gestured to a door at the end of the main room. The two started to it, but halfway down Merlin stopped and said,

"You won't mention anything about... that?" he indicated the broken balcony.

"No. Although... thank you."

Merlin nodded and headed up to what was to be his and Lara's new living quarters.

* * *

The next day Merlin woke up to the bright sunlight streaming through the window. For a second he was startled, wondering why he wasn't in his bed at home- and then he remembered. He glanced over at Lara's side of the room, which was unsurprisingly already tidied. She prided herself on being very neat and clean- she couldn't live 'in a pigsty,' as she put it. After Merlin washed, he went downstairs to see that Lara and Gaius was already busy with breakfast.

"I got you water," Gaius said, indicating a bucket perched on the end of table. "You didn't wash last night."

"Sorry."

"Help yourself to breakfast," he said, setting a bowl of porridge down across from Lara. It had a strange consistency to it, both solid and liquid. Out of the corner of his eye, Merlin saw Gaius push the water bucket from the table. Immediately the tingling sensation returned and he stood up, slowing down time once again. The objects stopped in mid-air, the water drops glistening in the sunlight. Gaius gasped and looked at him. Feeling he had done something wrong, Merlin let the bucket clatter to the floor, the water spilling all over the place.

"I'll get the mop," Lara said, getting up.

"How did you do that?" Gaius inquired again. "Did you incant a spell in your mind?"

"I don't know any spells."

"So what did you do? There must be something."

"It just happens," Merlin told him.

Lara returned with the mop and started cleaning up the mess. "Let me, it's my mess," Merlin said, trying to take it from her.

"Don't be silly."

"We'll have to keep you out of trouble," Gaius ignored us both. "You can help me until I find some paid work for you. Here." He set a few bottles on the table. "Hollyhock and feverfew for Lady Percival, and this is for Sir Owen. He's as blind as a weasel so warn him not to take it all at once."

"Right," Merlin said, determined to remember it all.

"I'd better take Lady Percival's, she wouldn't want a man to enter her chambers," Lara said, taking the hollyhock.

"Off you go," Gaius smiled at them. I already had one foot out the door when Gaius added, "I need hardly tell you that the practise of _any form_ of enchantments will get you killed."

* * *

"_Where's _the target?" an exasperated voice said as Lara and Merlin walked out to the courtyard. They'd both successfully delivered their medicines without getting lost, and now, at Lara's request, it was time to explore Camelot. They'd barely made it ten steps when they saw a handsome blond boy, dressed in full armor, addressing his servant.

"There, sir," his servant replied.

"It's into the sun," the blond complained.

"It's not that bright."

"Bit like you, then," the blond said. His knights laughed jeeringly at the poor servant.

"I'll just put it on the other side then..." Merlin watched as the servant lifted a heavy, wooden circle with a red dot painted on it, surrounded by an intricate design.

"This'll teach him," Merlin heard the boy mutter to one of his knights. As the servant was moving the target, the blond threw an knife at him, hitting the dot square in the center. The servant lowered the target, looking both surprised and offended. "Hey, hang on!"

"Don't stop!" the blond ordered.

"Here?" the servant asked, clearly wanting to put the circle down.

"I told you to keep moving!" the boy aimed another dagger, and the servant barely had time to cover his face with the target; another bullseye. "Come on!" the blond egged him on. "Run!" The servant complied, struggling with the weight of the target. "We want some moving target practice!" the blond managed to throw a few more daggers before the servant collapsed under the wood's weight. The target rolled a few meters before falling at Merlin's feet; as the servant made to pick it up, Merlin put his foot on it.

"Hey," he said. "Come on, that's enough."

"Merlin, what are you doing?" Lara asked as the boy's face changed from amusement to apprehension. Merlin ignored her.

"What?" the blond said.

"You've had your fun, my friend," Merlin smiled at him.

"Do I know you?" the boy asked, clanking over tohim.

Merlin stuck out his hand. "I'm Merlin-"

"So I don't know you."

"No."

"And yet you called me 'friend.'"

"That was my mistake. I've never had a friend who could be such an arse," Merlin replied with a tight smile.

"Careful, there are ladies within hearing," he responded, mirroring my expression. "I don't believe I've caught your name?" he added to Lara, flashing a smile at her. His tone had changed from mocking to charming, just like that. Merlin narrowed his eyes at him. Who _was _this guy?

"Larabelle, but people call me Lara," she said, shaking his hand.

"Pleasure. I'm Arthur, by the way." He turned back to Merlin, but Merlin had already started walking away. "So tell me, _Merlin_, do you know how to walk on your knees?"

Merlin sighed. "No, I don't."

"Would you like me to help you?" He was polite, but with a hint of sarcasm.

"I wouldn't if I were you."

"Why? What're you going to do to me?" He prodded.

"You have no idea," Merlin smiled slightly, envisioning myself pushing him with an invisible force- via magic, of course. Lara must've known what he was thinking; she grabbed him by the arm and muttered something about getting groceries.

"No, be my guest! Come on!" Arrogant bastard. "Come on!"

"Come on, Merlin. _Let's go,_" Lara said through gritted teeth, tugging him along. Merlin shook her off and swung his arm towards Arthur, who caught it and twisted it behind Merlin's back.

"Let him go, he's my friend!" Lara said, trying to pry him off of Merlin, but her attempts were fruitless as two of his knights restrained her.

"I ought to throw you in jail for that," Arthur remarked.

"Who do you think you are, the king?" Merlin spat.

"No," Arthur hissed, "I'm his _son._"

* * *

_Merlin..._

Merlin stirred in his makeshift bed of hay. He was somewhere between sleep and conciousness- he wasn't sure if I was dreaming. The voice sounded ancient and raspy, as though it had not spoken for many years.

_Merlin... _

Fully awake now, he scampered up to the opposite end of the filthy cell block, heart pounding. _Where_ was that voice coming from? He pressed his ear to the cold stone floor, hoping to find the answer, when Gaius burst in.

"Merlin?" Merlin sprang up from the floor. Gaius took one look around the cell and added, "You _never _cease to amaze me! The one thing that someone like you should do is keep your head down, and what do you do? You behave like an idiot."

"I'm sorry," Merlin muttered, embarassed.

"You're lucky," Gaius told him. "I've managed to pull a few strings to get you released."

Merlin looked up, hardly daring to believe it. "Oh, thank you, thank you! I won't forget this. Where's Lara?"

"She's out in the market. I sent her to pick up herbs. Oh, and," Gaius added, "There is a small price to pay for your actions."

* * *

Laughter rang through the air as the soft, spoiled vegetables were pelted at his head. Merlin kept his head down so none of it would hit his face, though he did get a mouthful of tomato at one point. It was going to be a nightmare washing his hair tonight.

"Hello, Merlin," Lara said, leaning on the wooden stocks, her arms folded and her feet crossed. In her basket was a mishmash of different herbs, tied and ready to use. Merlin looked at her, which was hard to manage with his head being stuck in the stocks. She wore an expression that read, _I told you so. _Merlin gave a huff of impatience.

"Well, how was I supposed to know that was the king's son?"

"Well, I tried to get you away!" Lara matched his tone. "Oh, no, you'd rather go and pick a fight."

"I was not picking a fight! He was, if anything," Merlin replied moodily.

Lara didn't answer. Then she lowered her voice and said: "That girl is staring at you." She nodded to his left. Merlin looked, and there stood a girl with coffee-colored skin and curly brown hair pulled into a bun, flyaways framing her face nicely. Around her shoulders was a red, weather-beaten cloak. She noticed him looking and she was quick to approach.

"Hi, I'm Guinevere, but most people call me Gwen?" She phrased it like a question. "I'm the Lady Morgana's servant."

"Larabelle, but people call me Lara," Lara smiled as she shook hands with Gwen.

"I'm Merlin, but most people just call me... idiot," Merlin shrugged half-heartedly.

"No, no, no, I saw what you did," Gwen said quickly. "It was so brave."

Merlin shook his head. "No, it was stupid."

"Well, I'm glad you walked away, you weren't going to beat him."

"Oh, I could beat him," Merlin reassured her. Lara flashed him a warning look.

"You think?" Gwen asked. "Because you don't look like one of these big, muscley kind of fellows."

"Thanks," I said, slightly offended.

"No no, I'm sure you're stronger than you look!" Gwen said quickly, trying to repair the damage. "It's just that Arthur's one of those real rough, tough, save-the-world kind of men and, well... you don't look like that."

"No, it's just that he's in disguise," Lara smirked. Gwen laughed while Merlin rolled his eyes at Lara.

"Well, it was great that you stood up to him," Gwen addressed both of them.

"You think so?" Merlin said before Lara could make any more smart remarks.

"Arthur's a bully, and everyone thought you were a real hero," Gwen smiled. Merlin could see in her warm brown eyes that she truly believed what she said. He didn't have long to dwell on this, however, because he noticed that the villagers were returning with basketfuls of vegetables, just for him.

"Oh, eh, excuse me Guinevere, Lara, my..._ fans_ are waiting." Merlin indicated the gathering crowd. Gwen gave him a quick smile and darted away, Lara following her; Merlin barely had time to wave goodbye before the villagers resumed throwing their spoiled crops at him.

It was going to be a _loooonng _day.


	2. The Dragon's Call, Part 2

**So... okay... I haven't been updating in a while because...**

**I discovered Tumblr. **

**And holy Excalibur, that place is addicting. **

* * *

"Here, Merlin," Lara said as Merlin sat down to lunch later that day. "Have some vegetables." She pushed the bowl towards him. He laughed, but the sight of lettuce and tomatoes being hurled at him was going to haunt him for the rest of his life.

"So tell me, Merlin," Gaius said, the pair becoming a trio as he joined them at the small wooden table, "What did your mother say to you about your gifts?"

"That I was... special?" Merlin replied.

Gaius nodded knowingly. "You are special. The likes of which I have never seen before."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, magic requires incantations, spells, it takes years of study. What I saw you do was... _elemental_ and _instinctive_."

"What's the point if it can't be used?"

"That I do not know. You are a question that has never been posed before, Merlin."

Merlin nodded, twirling his spoon in his soup. "Did you ever study magic?"

Gaius looked pensive. "Uther banned all such work twenty years ago."

"What? Why?" Lara asked, intrigued.

"People used magic for the wrong end at that time. It threw natural order into chaos. Uther made it his mission to destroy everything from back then, even the dragons."

"_All _of them?"

"There was one dragon he chose not to kill- he kept it as an example. He imprisoned it in a cave deep beneath the castle, so no one could free it."

"That's horrible."

Gaius replied with a noncommital grunt. "Now, eat up, I have a preparation for you to take to Lady Helen. She needs it for her voice."

* * *

"That's ridiculous," Lara spluttered thirty minutes later. Merlin had returned from his delivery trip, wide-eyed and panicky, but he didn't want to discuss what had happened with Gaius just yet. He and Lara went to the market to talk, where the chances of being overheard were slim. "How do you know it's not just a trick of the light? Maybe you were imagining things."

"Lara, I know magic when I see it," Merlin replied in an undertone. "That's why the mirror was covered up, I bet- so no one could see her reflection. _And_ she had a spellbook and a cornhusk doll, lying right next to each other. That can't be a coincidence, can it?"

"Maybe the doll was her daughter's," Lara said stubbornly.

"Maybe. But that still doesn't explain the reflection."

They were so deep in their conversation that they hadn't realized that they had walked right through Arthur's little posse of knights, until he said loudly: "So how's your knee-walking coming along?"

"Ignore him," Lara muttered, pulling him along.

"Oh, don't run away!" Arthur mock-pleaded.

Merlin stopped, his back still to him. "From you?"

"Oh, thank God. I thought you were deaf as well as dumb."

"Look, I've told you you're an arse," Merlin said in a condescending tone, finally turning to face him. "I just didn't realize you were a royal one."

"Merlin!" Lara hissed. "Stop it!"

"Go on, listen to your girlfriend. You wouldn't want me as your enemy."

"She's not my girlfriend," Merlin said through gritted teeth, the top of his ears turning red. Lara blushed as well, staring at the ground. "And what are you going to do? Get your daddy's men to protect you?"

"Ha! I could take you apart with one blow."

"I could take you apart with less than that."

"Are you sure about that?"

For a second, neither boy spoke. Then Merlin shrugged off his jacket and shoved it Lara's hands, pushing her off to the side. "Merlin!" Lara groaned, defeated. Arthur was loving it, clearly pleased that Merlin wanted to fight. He grabbed a mace from a nearby aide and tossed it to Merlin, who barely managed to catch it.

"Here you go, big man. Come on then," Arthur said, swinging his mace around. "I warn you, I've been trained to kill since birth." Arthur said this as though they were talking about the weather.

"Wow. And how long have you been training to be a prat?"

The insults finally seemed to be getting to Arthur. "You can't address me like that."

"Sorry," Merlin chuckled. "How long have you been training to be a prat- my lord?" he said with a little bow.

Arthur gave a little fake chuckle- then swung his mace at Merlin's head. Thinking fast, Merlin ducked and backed away. To his dismay, Arthur followed, still showing off with his stupid mace. "Come on then, Merlin! Come on!" He perched on a wheelbarrow, backing Merlin into a cage filled with straw. Merlin tugged at his mace, but lo and behold- it was tangled with the cage. As he struggled to free his weapon Arthur slowly approached him, trying to savor this moment of victory for him. The wheelbarrow tipped, Arthur swung- and missed Merlin by inches as he darted away in the nick of time.

Arthur was showing no sign of relenting. He hurled his mace at Merlin again and again, Merlin dodging it each time. He kept advancing on Merlin, causing him to keep backing away: Merlin fell over in a wheelbarrow that was filled with sacks of flour.

"You're in trouble now," Arthur said, a manic gleam in his blue eyes as he swung his mace around and around. Merlin looked around wildly for some sort of aid; then his eyes fell on two metal hooks hanging behind Arthur's shoulder. With a slight tingle, Merlin made the hooks, well, hook together, Arthur's mace wrapping around it. In those precious few seconds of freedom Merlin got up and faced his opponent again. _I can win this with magic_.

With that in mind, Merlin tripped Arthur up by causing a rope on the ground to tighten, with Arthur falling flat on his face. He stumbled up, dazed. "Do you want to give up?" Merlin asked, hoping for the affirmative.

"To you?"

"Do you? Do you want to give up?" Merlin asked again, more forcefully than the last. This time it was Arthur backing up, Arthur who fell in the wheelbarrow. The townsfolk cheered- in his moment of glory, Merlin acknowledged them with a grin, his eyes landing on Lara first, who was standing there with a classic _Merlin-you-idiot _look on her face, and then Gaius, who was eyeing him with disapproval. Merlin's grin faded.

He paid for his lapse of concentration with a sharp jab in his back from Arthur, who had revived with the help of a broomstick. Arthur hit him in both his stomach and his head, and Merlin fell. Arthur, pleased with this turn of events, twirled the broom in his hand before sweeping Merlin away.

Two of Arthur's guards grabbed Merlin roughly by the arm. Merlin thought for sure he would be spending the night in jail again until Arthur said: "Wait. Let him go. He may be an idiot, but he's a brave one." Arthur regarded Merlin with an unreadable expression. "There's something about you, Merlin. I can't quite put my finger on it."

* * *

"How could you be so _foolish_?" Gaius scolded as soon as they set foot in the door of their quarters.

"He had to be taught a lesson," Merlin said, his voice hard.

"Magic must be studied, mastered, and used for good! Not for idiotic pranks! And you, Lara! You could've told him not to!"

Lara opened her mouth to protest but Merlin beat her to it. "What is there to master? I could move objects like that before I could talk!"

"Then by now you should know how to control yourself!"

"I don't want to!" Merlin exploded. "If I can't use magic, what have I got? I'm just a nobody, and I always will be. If I can't use magic, I might as well die." He turned his back on them and went up to his chambers, slamming the door behind him.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Lara knocked on the door, bearing a cool cloth, water, and a potion that Gaius had made. "Merlin?" Lara called. "Merlin?" She poked her head in the door. He was in full sulk mood, sprawled all over his bed with his arms hanging over the sides. "I know this is going to sound crazy, but sit up and- er- take your shirt off. I saw you fall pretty hard today, I thought you might need something..."

With a resigned sigh he sat up and obeyed his friend's orders, the bed springs creaking as Lara sat next to him. When she pressed the cloth to his bare back he flinched, causing Lara to jump too.

"You don't know why I was born like this, do you?" Merlin asked her, breaking the silence. Lara shook her head. "I'm... I'm not a monster, am I?"

"Don't ever think that, Merlin," Lara told him sternly.

"Then why am I like this? I need to know."

"I don't know any more than you do. I'm sure Gaius does."

"No, he doesn't, I've already asked." There was a sadness in his voice as he spoke. "If Gaius can't help me, then no one can."

Lara didn't know what to say. This was the first time- ever- that her best friend needed help, and she could do nothing but watch him struggle. She kept quiet, not knowing what to say to Merlin's statement. "Here, drink this, it's supposed to help with the pain," she said quietly.

"Thanks," he murmured, downing the potion in one swallow.

"Now put your shirt back on, I've gone long enough seeing you half-naked," Lara shuddered. He laughed and complied.

"Do you think Arthur will ever be king someday?" Lara asked thoughfully, a question that had been plaguing her all day. Merlin chuckled.

"Not the way he treats people like me. You saw what happened today."

"Yes, but you _provoked _him."

Merlin gaped at her. "Whose side are you on, mine or his?"

"Well, he _is _very good-looking."

"You're joking."

"How could I, with those blue eyes and that wind-blown blond hair," she sighed dreamily, batting her eyelashes and putting a hand over her heart just to annoy him.

"Disgusting."

"And the way he hurls maces at people, oh, it's so beautiful-!"

"I get it, Lara!" Merlin laughed. "You can be a real pain sometimes, did you know that?"

"You tell me every day." Lara rolled her eyes. "Alright, _I _am going to be outside throwing projectiles at wooden circles with my bow, care to join me?"

Merlin shook his head. "I think I'll just sulk here some more, thanks."

"Okay then," Lara laughed, closing the door.

* * *

_Schick! Schick! Schick! _Three arrows were flung through the air at a wooden target propped against the stone wall. Lara felt a rush of satisfaction as she surveyed her handiwork- two arrows smack on the red dot, the other lingering just outside. Two out of three- that wasn't so bad. _S__chick! Schick! _Two more arrows were launched, becoming mere blurs streaking in the sunlight.

She smiled sadly. Her mother would have been proud. Many years ago, just before she died in the Great Plague, Lara's mother passed on to her her grandfather's bow, fashioned from holly and oak with a single strand of unicorn hair. Lara's mother pressed it into her hands; though the disease had weakened her greatly, there was a fiery glow in her eyes. _It has been passed down for many generations,_ she had said. _Now it is time that it was given to you. Use it well. _

Three days later, she died.

Lara's father remained strong for his daughter's sake; he taught her how to use her weapon and (after making her swear she wouldn't use it on villagers) allowed her to romp around in the woods, shooting anything that moved. Sometimes she even brought home that night's dinner. Lara didn't go alone, of course- she took Merlin with her. She remembered the look on his face when she shot her first rabbit, while he was still trying to figure out which berries were edible (_"Red and yellow, dead fellow. Purple and blue, good for you," _she'd told him). He wasn't very handy with the stealth part, being the clumsy boy he was. He was still good company anyway, listening to her rant and rave about whatever was troubling her and doing magic to make her smile again. Those were the days. Lara loaded her bow again and pulled the string taut. She was about to release it when a voice suddenly said:

"What're you doing?"

Lara jumped and her arrow veered off-course, bouncing off of the wall. She turned; it was Arthur. He stood in a dark blue shirt and brown pants, which were tucked neatly into his combat boots. Lara's breath caught in her throat. Why did he have to be so damn good-looking?

"Oh, I was just- eh-" she wrung her bow in her hands. "Practising, that's all."

His brow furrowed. "Have we met?"

"Em, yeah. Yesterday, when Merlin tried to assault you, and today, when you called me his girlfriend. I'm not, actually, we're just good friends. Heh." She was rambling, she knew it, but he was making her nervous. Here he was looking like a god and she was standing there sweating like a hog in the summer.

His face broke into a smile. "Ah, yes. I remember now. You didn't tell me you did archery."

"Well, you didn't ask," Lara returned his smile, relieved to hear she wasn't in trouble. _Calm down, calm down. It's normal for people to smile. _

"I was never very good at things it.. Never could get my aim right," he shook his head. "I quit when I was eleven."

"I could teach you. It's not hard."

"For you," he laughed. "Look at that- five arrows on the bullseye! I was lucky to get _one." _He looked at her. "You actually want to teach me?"

Lara nodded earnestly. "Yes! So long as you have a bow, of course."

Arthur looked thoughtful. "I'm sure my father has a spare somewhere. I'll meet you here this time, tomorrow?"

"It's a date!" Lara nodded happily, then she realized what she said. "Oh, no no no no, I didn't mean like, a date date," she said, her eyes widening. "I meant, you know, it's- eh- a rendezvous! Yes! That's what it is! A rendezvous."

"Oh... kay," Arthur said, backing away slowly. "I, er, I have errands to run, so... good day."

"Goodbye!" Lara called after his retreating back. She stood there for a few minutes before going to retrieve her arrow, and then hitting her head on the wall.

_I'm such an idiot. _

* * *

"_Oi!_"

Lara woke with a jolt; she'd been happily dreaming about flying before she'd been interrupted. She looked- it was Gaius, standing in the doorway of their room, eyeing daggers at Merlin. "Have you seen the state of this room?"

"Oh, eh..." Merlin said, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "It just happens."

"By magic?" Gaius asked, eyebrows raised.

"Yeah."

"Well, you can clear it up _without _magic," Gaius said, tossing a shirt at him. "And I want you to get some herbs- Herbane, wormwood and sorrel. And deliver this to Morgana, the poor girl's suffering from nightmares." He handed Merlin a small bottle. He left the room.

Merlin looked at Lara. "What?"

"Well, you know what to do," Merlin said, throwing his covers back.

"I know what to do... what?"

"You're a girl. And girls like to clean. Go on."

"You want me to clean your room for you," Lara deadpanned.

"No, _our_ room. We share a room, we share responsibilities."

"Well, as I recall, _I _cleaned it last time, so... it's your turn, isn't it?" Lara looked at him with mock surprise. "I win!"

Merlin shot her a dirty look over his shoulder. "I hate you."

"Real charming, Merlin. You will _never _find a girl," Lara said, getting up to get dressed.

"What are you talking about? I just found one, she's standing in my room half-naked," Merlin replied cheekily.

"_Our _room," Lara corrected him. "And I meant one who wouldn't puke if she had to kiss you. And look away, I'm dressing," she said the last part crossly.

"So are you implying that I'm a bad kisser?" Merlin said, his back to her.

"How should I know, you've never kissed anyone."

"How do you know?"

"I know because it's my job to know everything about you, and if you actually _did _kiss someone then you'd come running to me telling me every detail about it. Is that enough for you?"

"Yes," Merlin said moodily. "So you say you know everything about me?"

"Yes, I do."

"Favorite color."

"Green."

"Most embarassing moment."

"The time when you ripped your trousers in front of the whole village when you were ten."

"The last thing I said to my mom?" _There's no way she'll get this. There's absolutely NO WAY-_

"'Mother, I'll be fine. Please don't cry. I'll be back before you know it.' Any more questions?"

_Well, I'll be damned,_ he thought, pursing his lips as he fumbled with a button on his trousers. "No..."

* * *

"Alright, so what you want to do is pull back as far as you can without actually breaking the string," Lara said, demonstrating with her bow. "The faster the arrow goes, the more accuracy you'll get. Don't hold it for too long though, or else you'll put too much strain on your arm." Lara let go of the string and the arrow whizzed through the air, landing a little outside the red dot on the target.

"Nice one," Arthur commented.

"Thanks. Okay, you try it."

It was late afternoon, and surprisingly Arthur had made the lesson just as he had promised the day before. Lara had been a little skeptical- after all, he was a prince. Didn't he have some princely duties or something? But then there he was, with his bow and his hair blowing in the wind like a god's. He noticed her staring at him and cleared his throat; Lara blushed.

She watched as he assumed the archery stance, with his legs slightly apart and the bow raised to shoulder level. He loaded, aimed- only to have the arrow bounce off the stone wall.

"Ah, well," Lara said, "You get better as you practice. Go on, do it again."

"You spend a lot of time with that Merlin boy," Arthur said casually as he restrung an arrow.

"Eh? Oh yeah. He's kind of the only person I know in this city," Lara replied with a laugh.

"Are you guys... you know..." he raised his eyebrows at her.

"What? Oh!" Her eyes went wide as she realized what he was saying. "No! No no no no, we're just friends. Really, really good friends. Heh. Why do you ask?"

"You talk about him a lot." Arthur released the arrow and just missed the outer rims of the target.

"I... I do?"

He nodded as he loaded up again. Lara replayed their conversation in her head. With a pang of embarassment she realized she _had _been bringing Merlin up quite a lot. _"Once Merlin broke his bow's string because he pulled too hard, so try not to put too much strain on it." "Merlin hardly manages to hit anything, so don't worry if you don't either." _God, it _did _sound like she was dating him.

As she was contemplating this, Arthur's third arrow managed to hit the outer rim of the target. "Not bad!" She beamed at her student.

"Really?" Arthur said with a look of disapproval on his face.

"Yes! Merlin never-" She caught herself just in time. Arthur laughed at her.

"Arthur!" someone called. They both turned; it was a servant, hurrying up to them. "My lady," the servant made a quick bow to Lara. Lara barely had time to register that she was supposed to bow back before the servant turned to Arthur. "The King says it is time for you to get ready for the feast tonight."

"Tell him I'll be there in five minutes." As the servant hurried off again Arthur rolled his eyes and made a swift motion across his neck. Lara giggled. "Thanks for the help today," Arthur told her as he went to retrieve his arrows.

"You're welcome. It was fun," Lara said. It was true- although Arthur could act like a spoiled brat sometimes, he could be very friendly and funny when he wanted to be. Which wasn't very often. But it made Lara like him even more. As a friend. Right? Lara pondered this. Did she _really _like him as a friend, or... like... _like _like him? He was nice. He was good-looking. He was the heir to Camelot's throne. The whole package, really.

"Well, thanks again," Arthur said, breaking her out of her thoughts. He was already heading up to the castle. "Hopefully we can do this again sometime."

Lara wasn't sure of a lot of things. For instance, she wasn't sure if the water in the well was completely clean (she'd seen a few farmers spit in it every once in a while), if Merlin really _could _make his temperature rise at will, or if she had superpowers. But she was sure of one thing: that she had taken leave of her senses for thirty seconds when Arthur was leaving.

"Arthur?" Lara called after his retreating back.

He turned and looked at her like, _What? _

Lara paused. What exactly did she want to say? _Hi. You're gorgeous. I love you. Please marry me. _

"Falafel," she blurted.

* * *

"Falafel," Merlin repeated, dumbfounded. "_Falafel?_"

They were standing by the food table at King Uther's 20-year-anniversary-of-dragon-slaying, which was piled high with all kinds of things: apples, pears, oranges, roast chicken, roast beef, potatoes, turkey, cakes, bread, and many more besides. Both villagers and knights alike roamed about dressed in their finest linens. Thankfully Lara had had the sense to bring at least one good dress- her best, in fact. The sleeves were short but puffed, her bodice a nice deep blue. A low murmur hovered in the air as townsfolk chatted and gossiped away over goblets of wine.

"Falafel," Lara affirmed grimly. "I don't know what came over me! He turned around and I just froze! Oh, God, I can't even look at him!..." Lara buried her face in her hands. Arthur was standing a few feet away, laughing with his fellow knights. Every so often he'd glance in their direction, but he'd quickly look away again so he wouldn't be caught acknowledging their existence.

"Oh, and he even wanted to take archery again sometime!" Lara moaned wistfully. "All of that, just down the drain! I'm- so- _stupid_-!" Lara said, hitting her forehead with her palm on each word.

Merlin didn't know anything about what happened in the girl mind, but he did know one thing: when catastrophe strikes, eat chocolate. He plucked a small truffle from a nearby plate and offered it to her.

"Thanks," she smiled at him, nibbling at it gratefully. Her moment of indulgence was spoiled when Morgana, lovely as ever, entered the room. Lara's dress paled in comparison to Morgana's- it had a sleeveless maroon halter top with an embellished collar, the material sheer and seemingly floating around her. A matching headband framed her head, while loose curls hung around her ears. Every single man in the room- married, single, knight- had eyes on her, jaws on the floor. Even Merlin, who was supposed to be offering Lara support in this catastrophic time of her life, ogled at Morgana as she brushed past. Lara snapped her fingers in front of his face. "Eyes off!"

"Sorry," Merlin murmured apologetically, eyes still trailing her anyway; Arthur was ambling over to talk to Morgana.

"I think I'll need another truffle," Lara moaned.

"She looks great, doesn't she?" a voice suddenly said from behind her. Lara almost choked on her chocolate; she turned to see it was Gwen. Surprisingly, she was wearing the same old dress from the day she'd first met her.

Lara and Merlin both agreed, but their "yeah"'s had a slightly different meaning. Lara's being, _"Yeah, she looks good and I'm really jealous, and I want to kill her because Arthur is talking to her" _and Merlin's being _"Yeah, she looks good. Really good. Period."_

"Some people are just born to be queen," Gwen smiled.

Both Lara and Merlin snapped out of their trance. "No!" Lara said disbelievingly.

Gwen looked surprised that they hadn't thought of it. "I hope so. One day. Not that I'd want to be her," Gwen said quickly. "I mean, who'd want to marry Arthur?" she added in an undertone.

Lara suddenly became extremely fascinated with a loose stitch on the tablecloth.

"Ah, come on Gwen, I know you like those rough, tough, save-the-world kind of men," Merlin joked.

"No, I like much more ordinary men like you."

"Gwen, believe me, I'm not ordinary."

Lara rolled her eyes. _Here we go again..._

"I... I didn't mean..._you..._," Gwen said, getting the wrong meaning. "I just like much more... ordinary men... _Like_ you."

"...Thanks," Merlin said, unsure if her words were a compliment or not.

"So! These truffles! Are they great or what?!" Lara said in a bright tone, trying to change the topic. They were spared from answering when a horn sounded, announcing the arrival of the King. By some unspoken term the guests shuffled into position at the long wooden tables, standing to attention as Uther swept inside the hall, his brown cloak billowing behind him. His crown, an inch-thick piece of gold placed around his head, gleamed in the candlelight. He took his place in front of the head table, where Morgana and Arthur were also standing. Merlin and Lara stood in a corner of the room.

"We have enjoyed twenty years of peace and prosperity," Uther began. "It has brought the kingdom and mysef many pleasures. But few can compare with the honor of introducing Lady Helen of Mora!" Uther led a round of appaluse as he took his seat at the head table. Merlin jabbed Lara fiercely on her ribcage. "That's her!" he said in a barely contained whisper. "The one with the cornhusk doll!"

Lara studied this alleged witch with great interest. Her straight, brown hair was pulled into an elegant bun with lower layers cascading down her shoulders. Her dress matched the candles- a golden yellow with a white lacing. "She doesn't look at all threatening to me," Lara said stubbornly as the piano struck up with the first few bars of Helen's song.

When Helen opened her mouth to sing, a haunting, lulling melody issued forth; Lara didn't know anything about opera but even she knew that this was pure talent. The words were in another tongue, but with the grim notes, she assumed it was about lost love or something- after all, weren't all operas about that? By this stage, Lady Helen had stepped off her mini-stage and began roaming down the aisle, clearly loving what she was doing. Lara was beginning to nod off at this point; her eyelids were heavy, her head was drooping...

"Lara!" Merlin hissed. "Wake up, cover your ears-!"

"Huh?" Lara said, mind having gone foggy with sleep. With a huff of impatience Merlin grabbed her hands and jammed them over her ears, before doing the same to himself. Lara blinked the sleep out of her eyes and saw why Merlin had done it: everyone in the place seemed to be falling asleep. Heads were buried on arms, sleeping guests leaning on each other, even the King nodding off with his head in his hand. As Helen's song grew more powerful, so did the enchantment. The candles suddenly went out, turning the room blue with moonlight; cobwebs appearing out of nowhere, covering everything and anything with glinting, silver strands, as though they were being strung by invisible spiders. The place resembled a haunted house.

For a split second, Helen looked around, surveying her handiwork. Then, she looked directly at Arthur, and seemed to redouble her efforts, her voice becoming stronger and somewhat angrier with every note. As she strode down the aisle, her voice reverberating in the otherwise silent room, she withdrew a small dagger from her sleeve with a soft _schick! _

Lara put two and two together and saw Helen's plan. She glanced at Merlin, horrified, her hands still clasped to her head. _Do something! Anything! _she mouthed desperately. Merlin returned her frazzled look before he caught sight of the chandelier, which Helen was standing directly beneath. Her notes were getting higher, time was running out...

With a slight tingle, the chandelier was brought down on Helen with a terrific crash. Her song abruptly ended mid-screech, with Helen falling to the floor unconcious. Cautiously, Merlin removed his hands from his ears. Silence. He nodded at Lara, who did the same.

For a terrifying moment, no one moved a muscle. Suppose the spell had to be further reversed? But to his great relief, the people were beginning to stir, flakes of cobweb ejecting into the air as they did so. Confused guests blinked and looked around, plucking the webs off of themselves. Uther seemed dazed only for a moment; his biggest concern was, apparently, the lights, and he was in for quite a shock when he saw the chandelier had fallen to the floor. He leapt to his feet, remembering that Helen had been standing right under it. Instead of the beautiful woman he saw an old woman, gray hair falling to her shoulders, huge wrinkles, wart on her chin...

With a jolt Lara remembered the woman too- she stared openmouthed as she recalled the trial from a few days before.

_"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth! A son for a son!..." _

As she was processing this information, Helen/Mysterious Woman decided that the fight was not over yet. She had arisen from the wreckage and, with an expression that would send anyone running in the opposite direction, flung her dagger at Arthur once more.

If Merlin were not as perceptive as he was, Arthur would have been killed, and Camelot would mourn the loss of the heir to the throne. A millisecond after the dagger had cleared the woman's hand, time slowed down- the dagger was moving as though it were trying to pass through a pot of gelatin- and Merlin was scurrying up to the head table, pulling Arthur to the floor with him-

When they collided in a heap on the cold stone tiles, Merlin's concentration was broken, and time resumed its normal pace. The dagger struck the back of Arthur's wooden chair, lodging itself right where Arthur's heart would have been.

Lara, who knew what had happened, was relieved but still terrified; the charm had only lasted a few moments, but suppose Uther had figured out that time had actually slowed down? Her heart was hammering in her throat when she saw him approach Merlin and Arthur, both of which were still quite dazed from the fall. "You have saved my boy's life," Uther said, a searching look on his face. He seemed to be wondering how Merlin had done it. "A debt must be repaid."

"Er- well-" Merlin stammered, clearly overcome with the privilege of speaking to the King face to face.

"Don't be so modest. You must be rewarded."

"No, you honestly don't have to, Your Highness-"

"No, absolutely." Uther remained firm. "This merits something quite special. You shall be rewarded a position in the Royal Household..." At these words, visions of honor and leisure and wealth danced through Merlin's head. Could it really be-?

"You shall be Prince Arthur's manservant!" the King declared.

Both boys were stunned, but Arthur chose to voice his surprise. "Father!" His complaint was barely heard, however, over the sound of the entire hall clapping and cheering for Camelot's latest hero. Merlin glanced at Lara, who was also clapping, but she looked as though she were trying not to burst out laughing. Gaius had an approving look on his face, while Gwen looked a little surprised by this turnout.

Merlin and Arthur looked at each other, each sizing the other up. Arthur regarded him as though he were something he'd just scraped off the bottom of his boot. The two looked away again, both dreading the days to come.

* * *

"Mer-lin, your underwear is on my side of the room!" Lara said, holding a hand over her nose and looking absolutely revolted.

"So pick it up?" Merlin said with a _duh_ expression.

"There is no way I am touching that with an eleven foot _pole._"

"Then it'll stay there all night. And possibly forever."

"Mer-_lin!_"

"La-_ra!_" he mimicked her.

She gave a deep sigh and edged her way towards it, picking up the offending item and flinging it across the room as though it were a piece of snot. "Okay, now I am going to go wash my hands ten times. Good day to you." Lara held her hands out by her sides, her fingers spread wide apart. She walked very slowly to the door, still in shock at what she had just done.

A few seconds after she had left, Gaius entered the room carrying something covered in red velvet cloth. "Is Lara alright? I just passed her and she seemed to have a very strange gait to her."

"Just that." Merlin indicated his underthings, which had landed on the windowsill. Gaius seemed to get the whole story right from that odd little picture. "Seems you're a hero, now," he said, and Merlin knew he was talking about the incident with Arthur and Helen.

"Hard to believe, isn't it?" Merlin cracked the barest trace of a grin.

"No... I knew it from the moment I met you. You saved my life, remember?"

"But... that was magic."

Gaius nodded. "And now it seems we have found a good use for it."

"What do you mean?"

"I saw how you saved Arthur's life. _Perhaps that's its purpose._"

"My destiny," Merlin murmured.

"Indeed. This book was given to me when I was your age," Gaius said, holding out the velvet-covered object. "But I've a feeling that it will be of more use to you than it was to me."

Merlin took the book, his gaze switching back and forth from Gaius to the book. Then, as though he could bear it no longer, he eagerly unwrapped the cloth from the book and found a very nice, leather bound book. He undid the brass clasps and started flipping through the yellowed, warped pages; drawings of rare plants, recipes for mixing potions, hand movements, concentration exercises...

"This is a book of magic," Merlin realized this aloud.

"Which is why you must keep it hidden," Gaius reminded him.

"I will study every word!" Merlin promised earnestly, and Gaius only nodded, proud of his student.

There was a knocking at the door. "Merlin!" Lara called through the wood. "There's a guard at the door, he said Prince Arthur wants you right away!"

Gaius turned to Merlin warily. "Your destiny's calling. Better find out what it wants."

Although Merlin could have happily spent the night perusing his new spellbook, he knew that Arthur's demands had to be met right away. He went downstairs and looked around Gaius's chambers one more time and felt that at last, he had found a place where he belonged.


	3. Valiant, Part 1

**ERMAGERD. I'm so so so so sorry I haven't updated! I've just been so busy with schoolwork and whatnot that I haven't even had a chance to think. So here you go. Happy reading :)**

* * *

"Right, Lara, you must add precisely four drops of pixie venom. If you add three or five, the medicine will become instead a powerful sleeping draught," Gaius told his apprentice.

Lara was perplexed. "But I thought pixie venom was poisonous... why add it to medicines?"

"There is a chemical inside the venom that neutralizes the wormwood- they react to one another, so to speak, and generally cause-"

"Okay, okay. Four drops of pixie venom," Lara said hastily, taking up the dropper. It was her first day as an apprentice to Gaius, and she couldn't have been more excited. Except for one problem... Gaius liked to lecture. Ask him a question, and he would turn it into a life lesson that lasted an hour and a half. Lara was grateful for the old man's knowledge, but sheesh. Sometimes a yes or no answer was all that was required.

_One... two... three... fo-_

There was the sound of metal clanging to the floor as someone walked in the little room, causing Lara to jerk so suddenly that she ended up putting six or seven drops of venom in the potion. She swirled around angrily to see the perpetrator, only to find a harried-looking Merlin, dressed in armor. Smudges of dirt covered his face, and his hair was sticking up at ends all over the place.

Lara looked him up and down with a bemused expression. "So how was your first day as Arthur's servant?"

Merlin slapped the sides of his head. "Do you hear clanging?"

* * *

"It was _horrible_," Merlin said as Gaius sat him down for one of his famous massages. Lara lingered in the background, redoing the potion that she had just ruined. "And I've still got to learn all the tournament etiquette by morning!"

"...Tournament etiquette?" Lara repeated, confused.

"For the annual sword tournament coming up," Merlin explained before focusing his concentration on a nearby book. He chanted a few words in a tongue that Lara couldn't make heads or tails of, and the book came flying to him, opening in the process.

Gaius smacked the back of his head. "Oi! What have I told you about using magic like that?"

"Well, if I could actually _feel_ my arms I'd pick up the book myself!" Merlin retorted.

"Never mind your arms, what do I do if you get caught?"

Merlin blinked. "What _would _you do?"

Gaius didn't want to answer, because he said: "You just make sure it doesn't happen for both our sakes."

"I save Arthur from being killed and I end up as a_ servant. _How is that fair?" Merlin complained as Gaius pulled his arm back, causing his bones to crack.

"I'm not sure if fairness comes into it," the old man replied. "You never know, it might be fun."

"You think mucking out Arthur's horses is gonna be _fun_?" Merlin sighed. "You should see my list of duties."

"We all have duties, even Arthur."

"It must be so tough for him," Merlin said sarcastically. "What with all the glory... and the girls."

"He is the future king, people expect so much from him," Gaius said knowingly, starting on Merlin's right arm. "He's under a lot of pressure." There was the sound of multiple bones cracking at once.

"That makes two of us!" Merlin moaned.

"You know, Merlin, if you need help with all the armour stuff, you should see Gwen. She knows a lot about it," Lara advised him, wrinkling her nose at the stinkbomb she had just created.

"Why Gwen?"

"Why _not _Gwen? She is the blacksmith's daughter, after all."

"She is?" Merlin said, surprised.

"Sure. Her mother died when she was five though, so now it's just her and her father."

Merlin turned to face her. "How is it that you know so much more about this than me?"

"Because she told me?" Lara said, as though it were the most obvious answer in the world. She dropped the lacewing into the brew, which immediately reversed the smell and created a lovely scent of wildflowers. Much better.

"When?"

"In the market yesterday. She sure wanted to know a lot about you."

Merlin perked up. "She did?"

Lara rolled her eyes. "Don't you have some mucking out to do?"

* * *

Two days later, Merlin stood in the hot sun trying to get Arthur into his armour. For some reason, the wrist cuffs just wouldn't fit. As he tried to squeeze Arthur's arm into it, Arthur remarked, "You do know the tournament starts _today_?"

"Yes, sire," Merlin replied with a tight smile. There! It finally went in. Merlin moved on to his shoulders, double checking the strings tying it together. "Are you nervous?"

"I don't get nervous."

"Really? I thought everyone got nervous-"

"Will you shut up!" Arthur roared.

Thank God the process was almost over. All Merlin had to do was wrap the red cloak around Arthur and give him his helmet, and he was done. Merlin stepped back, admiring his work. "There. I think you're all set." Or so he thought.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Arthur said this as though he were talking to a five year old child. Merlin's brow wrinkled in puzzlement. "My sword!"

"Oh yeah! Yeah. Sorry. You'll be needing that," Merlin said as he plucked his sword from the rack, kicking himself for being so careless. Arthur snatched his sword and stomped away, red cloak billowing behind him.

_Well, that went well. _

Meanwhile, up in the stands, Lara was sitting bolt upright in between next to Gwen, who had saved her a seat, a feeling of anticipation in the pit of her stomach; she felt like she was about to do something important and amazing instead of watching a bloodbath unfold for pure entertainment. She'd never been to a tournament, much less one sponsored by a royal family. According to Gaius, Arthur was the reigning champion, and he'd never lost a swordfight...

With a sickening lurch, a horrible thought struck Lara: what if Arthur _did _lose? Lose his focus or his footing just for one second, and then it would be the end, just like that. _No... _she thought._ Surely it won't happen... no one would dare hurt the king's son... _

Drums sounded out from somewhere, joined by the horns soon after. It was starting! The atmosphere had already been electric with excitement, but now the air itself seemed to be quivering in anticipation. The competitors strode out of a side entrance quietly with determined faces, each believing that they would be the last man standing. As they formed two lines of twelve Lara sat, if possible, a little straighter, straining to see where Arthur was. Oh, there he was- second to last in the second row. He was eyeing a man in yellow robes grimly, seemingly already dreading the fight.

Lara's thoughts were interrupted when Uther swept into the arena.

"Knights of the Realm," he boomed, "it is a great honour to welcome you to the Tournament of Camelot. Over the next three days you will come to put your bravery to the test, your skills as warriors, and of course, to challenge the reigning champion, my son, Prince Arthur."

Arthur shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot as every eye in the place turned to him. She caught his eye and gave him a small smile; he nodded at her in acknowledgement.

"Only one of you can have the honour of being crowned champion, and he will recieve a prize of one thousand gold pieces," Uther continued. A woman on the side opened a small chest on a nearby table: the crowd oooohed and ahhhhed at the coins, glinting gold in the sunlight. "It is in combat that we learn a knight's true nature- whether he is indeed a warrior, or a coward. The Tournament begins!" Uther declared, and the crowd burst into applause. The competitors bowed their heads in submission and marched dutifully away, leaving the first two to fight- which, unfortunately, included Arthur.

Lara watched with wide eyes as Arthur and his opponent- Lara could not see his face but his robes were brown, so Lara had decided to call him Brownie- unsheathed their swords. Arthur did his famous little twist with it before taking his stance. Then, as though either of them could bear the suspense no longer, they both lunged for each other, the swords meeting with a solid _clank! _Arthur countered the attack and stood off again, circling him.

Lara held her hands up to her mouth, biting her nails furiously. The speed at which the Brownie and Arthur were moving was admirable- it was graceful, almost like a dance; it was too bad the dance involved weapons. Brownie always seemed to go for the offensive, jabbing and lunging at Arthur, while Arthur artfully twisted and parried away. Brownie seemed to be very experienced- he very nearly got Arthur twice, once on the neck and once on the stomach- had Arthur not dodged at the last second... Lara was too afraid to even blink, afraid that she might miss something-

Arthur hit Brownie with his elbow and Brownie fell to the ground, his helmet tumbling away into the dust. The crowd erupted into applause, Lara among them. Hmm. So you don't have to die to lose- you only had to fall! She felt like a huge weight had been taken off her shoulders-. She'd been worrying and worrying and it really had been stressing her out. But there was still the possibility of Arthur's head getting chopped off or something; she recalled the many close calls he'd had with Brownie. But Lara pushed the thought away, Arthur was good at defense...

As the day wore on, Lara found herself getting more and more into the tournament. Even though she didn't personally know any of the competitors (save for Arthur, of course) she would feel her heart stop and hands fly to her mouth if one of them got to close to killing the opponent. Especially if it was Arthur. Swords clinked, shields were scratched, helmets rolled around in the dust as their owners fell, one after the other... Lara glanced at the scoreboard, which kept track of who was winning by putting up the competitor's shield designs. Lara noticed that the only recurring winners were Arthur (with the yellow dragon) and the man in yellow robes, who she later found out was named Valiant (with three intertwined snakes). Interesting.

A few hours later, Uther stood up and announced that the day's events had drawn to a close: Lara ran down from her seat and darted to the knights' quarters, where they went to refresh themselves after the fight. She knew Merlin was back there helping Arthur with his armour, and he couldn't get a good seat in the stands because of it. She was bursting to tell him all that had happened.

Lara found him with Arthur, struggling to get him out of the metal things. She ran up and blurted, "Swords- fight- Valiant- Arthur-"

"Hm? Oh, yes. I saw the whole thing - I was standing by the stone archway, didn't you see me?" Merlin said casually.

"Valiant seems pretty handy with a sword," Lara panted, still trying to catch her breath. It didn't help that Arthur's presence was, well, breathtaking. Even when he was all sweaty and dirty he still managed to look good. At least to Lara he did.

Arthur gave a little _hmph!_ at this remark. "Aw, is someone angry that someone else is better than him at fighting?" Merlin cooed, and Arthur looked at him with a _very _annoyed expression.

"So I guess this means no more archery lessons, huh?" Lara said, dying to change the topic. "At least until the tournament is over."

"Oh, those. Yeah, I guess so. But it's only for a couple more days, don't worry about it," Arthur replied with a slightly crooked smile. But his warm demeanor vanished the instant Valiant came rounding the corner. Arthur stood a little straighter, his face set in a determined way. Valiant caught sight of him and came over.

"May I offer you my congratulations on your victories today?" Valiant said politely. He had a slight lilt in his voice, an accent that Lara had never heard before. Lara studied his face; he had some manly stubble framing his face, and his eyes were a nice, clear green. He was quite good-looking, Lara decided, but not as good as Arthur.

"Likewise," Arthur said.

"I hope to see you at the reception this evening," Valiant said. "M'lady," he added, bowing slightly in Lara's direction. He walked off.

Merlin stared after him. "Creep."

Lara giggled, and even Arthur cracked a smile. Then he became very businesslike. "Oh, for tomorrow, you'll need to repair my shield, wash my tunic, clean my boots, sharpen my sword, and polish my chainmail." Arthur walked away, probably to take a bath. Merlin looked at Lara desperately.

"You see? You see what I have to deal with? He's a nightmare, honestly."

"Oh, come off it. He's not _that _bad," Lara told him.

"I'm sure _you_ would know. What's this about archery lessons?"

"He's bad at archery, so I offered to teach him," Lara shrugged. "Not that hard of a concept, really."

"So, what, now you're going to be spending every afternoon with him?" Merlin said as they set off to the castle, him towing Arthur's armor with him.

"Not _every _afternoon. It's thrice a week."

"I bet you wished it was more than that," Merlin turned to grin at her. Lara punched him playfully on the arm.

"Shut up!"

* * *

The next morning Merlin found himself walking into the armoury to fetch Arthur's armour. Honestly, why couldn't Arthur do it? It was only a matter of walking and picking it up. Moreover, why couldn't Arthur dress himself in his own stupid armour? Merlin contemplated this as he looked over the metal pieces, making sure everything was in place. Arthur was sure to throw a tantrum if something was missing-

Merlin's head snapped up. He could have sworn he had just heard a faint hiss, like a snake was somewhere in the vicinity. But just as he was about to dismiss the noise as a trick of the mind, he heard it again. "Is someone there?" Maybe someone was playing a prank on him.

The soft noise continued, and it seemed to be coming from somewhere near the shields. Merlin bent down to inspect the ground for a snake of some sort, canvassing the shields to see if it was slithering around anywhere there. He even flipped through them to see if it was hiding in between them. Nothing. Merlin only stopped to admire the artwork on Valiant's shield- the intertwining snakes were quite unusual, really-

_One of the snakes blinked at him. _

Merlin stopped, wide-eyed. Well, he was hearing snake noises, and there was a snake on Valiant's shield... it wasn't hard to figure out. But how could the snake-?

Just as Merlin reached up to touch it, a silver sword suddenly appeared at his neck, the walls dancing with the light reflecting from it. Merlin looked up and saw, with a sinking heart, that it was Valiant. Merlin stood up very slowly, trying to make it look like that he hadn't just been looking at Valiant's shield.

"Can I help you with something, boy?" The words did not match Valiant's expression- he looked ready to kill. And that was _not _a good thing when a sword was in hand.

"Nope, I'm good," Merlin just barely managed to say. "I've... I've only come to gather my master's armour..."

"Then you best be on your way," Valiant said, never taking his eyes off Merlin. He reminded Merlin of a snake about to strike its victim.

"Right, yeah. No problem!" Merlin said, gathering up the metal as fast as he could. In his haste to get out, he stumbled across some swords, with clanked and clanged on the stone floor. Merlin was grateful to be out of there, but what he had seen in Valiant's shield wasn't easy to forget.

* * *

Merlin somehow managed to get everything on Arthur properly later on, much to Arthur's surprise ("I suppose it couldn't have gotten any worse," he'd remarked) and they were out into the arena right on time. Merlin again watched from the sidelines. Since it was day two of the tournament, there were more swordsmen who had a higher level of experience, and they proved a challenge to Arthur; he was not as easily winning as he had done the day before. Nonetheless, the yellow dragon advanced up the scoreboard, dominating all.

The three snakes were also moving up the ranks. Merlin felt a tug of worry as he watched Valiant fight a knight in purple robes. He still couldn't shake the feeling that Valiant's shield had been tampered with- they weren't supposed to blink at you and make noises, right? The purple knight fell, and his helmet rolled off, revealing a man with coffee colored skin and a wild shag of black hair. The audience cheered its approval and Merlin was with them, until he noticed Valiant kneeling on the man, practically shoving his shield up his nose...

Merlin blinked, and suddenly Valiant was standing again, acknowledging his fans with a jovial wave of the hand. Gaius rushed into the arena carrying his medical bag, examining his opponent, who was still laying on the ground as though dead.

"I think he's badly hurt," Merlin commented to Arthur.

* * *

"How is he?" was the first thing Merlin said when he burst through the door of Gaius's chambers after his day's work. He'd been made to scrub the floors of Arthur's bedchambers, polish his boots, wash his tunic, polish the chainmail... just a normal day's work, but he was itching to go back and see what had happened to the man. He lay on a cot that Gaius had provided; it looked as though the patient was sleeping.

"It's most odd," Gaius said. "Do you see these two small wounds right here?" he indicated two circles on the man's neck, white on his skin. "It looks like a snake bite."

"How could have he been bitten by a snake?" Merlin asked. "He was injured in the sword fight, wasn't he?"

"Yeah, but his symptoms resemble poisoning," Lara said smugly, eager to show off what she had learned. "Slow pulse, fever, paralysis- right?"

"Precisely," Gaius nodded.

"Can you heal him?" Merlin said.

"Well, if it is a snake bite, I'll have to extract venom from the snake that bit him to make an antidote."

"What happens if he doesn't get the antidote?"

"Well, I'm afraid there's nothing more I can do for him. He's going to die," Gaius said grimly, pressing a cool cloth to his patient's forehead.

A sudden realisation hit Merlin. "He was fighting Knight Valiant."

"What?" Lara said, a wrinkle of confusion appearing between her brows.

"Come on- I'll explain it to you on the way-"

And he pulled her from the room.

* * *

"Rubbish," Lara said after Merlin had recounted the story of the armoury in the corridors. "No one would dare cheat right under the King's nose."

"Lara, I would never to lie to you. His shield's got to be enchanted, those snakes are the only snakes that ever entered the arena!"

"Okay, suppose he is cheating- how are you going to prove it to Uther? He'll chuck you right out if he thinks you're lying!"

"Easy. We get the snake head."

"Easy? _Easy?_ How are you going to chop a two-dimensional snake off of a metal shield when Valiant is romping around carrying it all the time?"

By this point they were standing in castle foyer. Even though there was hardly anyone around at this time of night, they had taken to bickering in hushed tones.

"I'll think of something..." the words were barely out of his mouth before Valiant came striding out of a side door. Merlin pulled Lara behind a pillar and waited, with baited breath, as Valiant disappeared into another door.

"_Stay here," _Merlin mouthed to Lara, who nodded. He disappeared. Lara wrapped her arms around herself, a cold shiver running down her spine- the castle was very drafty, especially at night. She shifted from foot to foot, trying to regain feeling in her lower body.

Suddenly, Merlin darted out from the corridor, and before Lara even had time to blink she found Valiant, his sword drawn, following him closely. Merlin barely had time to hide behind the pillar as Valiant approached.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her, his face betraying a trace of surprise.

"Oh, I'm waiting for... someone..." she replied vaguely.

He gave a reminiscent half-smile. "I remember when I was that way, too. Good luck." He gave her a small wink and turned his back on her, resheathing his sword.

"I think he got the wrong idea," Lara murmured as Merlin chuckled softly behind her.


End file.
